What to expect from U.S. soccer teams in Olympics

Is this the year the U.S. men's soccer team finally outshine the U.S. women at the Olympics?

Probably not. Even though the women's chances at gold suffered greatly when they lost star forward Abby Wambach to a broken leg a couple of weeks ago, they're still favored to at least medal.

The men could medal, too. There's a good deal of talent on the team, and you never know if they could catch a little luck along the way.

"Listening to the people at U.S. Soccer, expectations are high," said former U.S. defender Marcelo Balboa, in town Saturday to broadcast the Fire-Chivas USA game for HDNet. "You bring in a (Brian) McBride, you've got Jozy Altidore, you've got Freddy Adu. You've got (Michael) Bradley, you've got (goalkeeper Brad) Guzan, you've got (Michael) Parkhurst. So you say to yourself, expectations are high."

At this point you might be shaking your head in disbelief, given that the men have shown they might not be able to put the ball in the East China Sea, much less the back of an opponent's net. Balboa doesn't think offense is this team's weakness, however.

"You've got guys who can go forward, guys who can put the ball in the back of the net," he said. "To me you look at it defensively. I look at the roster of the last two games, and it's been Parkhurst and Maurice Edu (in the middle). (Edu) is not a center back. He's always played midfield. So defensively could be more of a concern. I think they can score goals, but I think it's how does Edu fit in at center back along with Parkhurst? Does he step in, does Parkhurst sweep? I think if you look at the roster, that's more of a question mark."

There is no question who the favored teams are on the men's side. Argentina and Brazil look as strong as ever, and the Netherlands has plenty of talent.

"There's a lot, a lot of good teams. I think it's going to come down to which three over-age players have the most effect on the field," Balboa said.

Unlike the women, who field the senior national team at the Olympics, the men field an Under-23 team with up to three older players. The United States, which did not qualify for the Olympic men's tournament in 2004, will rely on Guzan, Parkhurst and McBride to be their difference makers, though Guzan and Parkhurst are only 24.

"That's why you bring them," Balboa said. "I mean, Argentina without (Lionel) Messi, is that the same team? You bring them in to make an impact. You bring in a (Juan Roman) Riquelme, that's an impact. You bring in Ronaldinho (for Brazil), that's a huge impact. You've got a former world player of the year."

The men start Olympic play at 4 a.m. CST Thursday against Japan.

On the women's side, Brazil and Germany should give the American women the most cause for concern. The U.S., however, is playing well for new coach Pia Sundhage. The women were to open tourney play today against Norway at 6:45 a.m. CST.

"The women have the pressure of having to get the gold medal because they've won it already, they have to defend it," Balboa said. "They've always done well in these big tournaments. So I think now it's how do they play it and how do they respond without their big star Abby Wambach on the field. That's what people want to see."

Regardless of how the U.S. teams do, it should be a fun couple of tournaments for fans.

"Are they capable of getting a medal? Yes, they are. But again it's a tournament: you need a bit of luck, you need some results to go your way, and you need to stay healthy," Balboa said. "You never know. That's the beauty of it. You never know."

oschwarz@dailyherald.com